spidermike007

Assuming these activities did not take place in a day or a week this leaves me with the question if the parents of six boys went to police because they were not satisfied with the upgrades of their offspring's grades after some time?

That is a completely ridiculous assertion, and implies that the parents were ok with the abuse under certain conditions. This clown was not a teacher, but a fellow student, and afterwards someone who passed himself off as a person of authority, or something of that sort.

He simply needs to be executed. And if that is not possible, life in prison, where he would find a warm reception from his fellow inmates, who would go out of their way to make him feel very welcome. Instead of being called Father Ja, his name would be changed to Pooying Ja. Come over here baby Ja.

There is a huge difference between being allowed to possess assets, which are needed for maintenance of temples, transportation of the monks, etc, and amassing a fortune. When one reads about monks owning exotic car collections, and amassing personal fortunes, that is so far over the line, that in a reasonable setting, it would not have to even be discussed. Reminds one of the Jerry Falwell types in the US, except he does not claim to be a monk, which requires certain levels of renunciation, if you expect to be taken seriously, that is.

The new guy, who is up for appointment for the top post, sounds highly unqualified for the appointment. Hope he is denied.

Not sure if it has become more dangerous than it has always been. I never feel threatened by the Thai people, which is a lot more than I can say about Latin America, with it's current drug wars raging, or the Philippines. But, what I feel threatened by, is the utter lack of traffic safety, public safety, hazards on the sidewalks, and careless, reckless and untalented drivers. The lack of safety campaigns here, and the lack of concern on the part of the officials makes the place a lot more dangerous than it needs to be. My guess is that the greatest hazard here is on the roads. So, drive very carefully, maintain eyes in the back of your head, always use a high quality helmet whenever on your motorbike, insist your passengers do so also, and drive fairly slowly. That will increase your chances of safety.

There is so much that could be done officially, to make Thailand safer. If they would stop talking, and start acting, this place could be so much safer. Stay away from places like Dark Tao, where there is absolutely no law enforcement, and the police are owned by a few local mobster families. Use good judgment. And watch your head and feet always when walking on sidewalks. They can be a real hazard.

I always carry a color copy of my passport and my thai drivers license. The few times I have been asked for ID, this has always been enough. Asking people to carry their original passport is utter and complete foolishness. Sort of comparable to asking the Jews to carry their papers in 1930's Germany. Completely unnecessary and a burden to all. Especially for those of us who have a one year visa. The risk of loss is just too great. If the police are actually serious about this (which I highly doubt) this would have a chilling effect on both tourism, and the ex-pat community. And this at a time when Thailand needs the tourisms and the ex-pats more than ever!

The lack of wisdom of many of the tourist and ex-pat related policies coming from this administration is rather astonishing. One wonders if they are actually trying to deliberately sabotage tourism, and discourage ex-pats from staying here? Could the level of ignorance really be that high?

Samui always has been, and remains the last bastion of utter lawlessness in Thailand. The previous helmet campaigns have always lasted only 10 hours. There has never been any sort of followup or consistency with anything bordering on public or traffic safety policy on Samui. They are some of the least talented and most incompetent police in the country. And the local officials display a level of indifference that is chilling. Though the island possesses the proud distinction of having the highest fatality rate in the world for traffic fatalities on motorbikes, has anyone in a position of power ever done anything about that? No. Do they care? No? Why? It is anyone's guess.

If they actually implemented something like this, it would be of great benefit to the long forgotten island of Samui, and it's residents and tourists. But, it remains to be seen whether these men are capable of following up anything, much less a real safety campaign. Let us hope for the best on this one. If it happens, it is 30 years overdue.

Does anyone know why so many ladyboys seem to be thieves? I hear countless stories about people getting beat up by ladyboys, getting robbed, etc. Is it such a desperate lifestyle, that they have to resort to this kind of behavior? Or does the media hate them to the point that they have it in for them? What is the reality? Not that it matters much to me. Just curious.

Most of the ladyboys will not be employed by normal businesses, so unless they make money from the sex industry, they steal to survive.

Absolute utter crap! Transgenders are employed in all forms of business in Thailand.

True that. And it is my guess that the vast majority are honest, hard working, and fairly normal people. But, the media likes to sensationalize, and this group is probably more prone than others, for that kind of journalism. Maybe the ladyboys of Thailand need to hire a PR person. Nah, it seems like most Thai people are quite fond of most of them. That is a good thing. Acceptance allows for a large heart.

You hear of so many here who kill their lovers, and spouses. The level of jealousy and insecurity here is insane. So many kill over love. Why not just walk away, and find a new woman? Why get so myopic, and blinded by love? What is up with that? Why such immaturity?

I often travel separately from my Thai wife. This week she is headed to Korat for a week, to visit some friends, and I am headed to Bangkok and Hua Hin to visit my friends. She often finds my friends boring, as we chat in english all day, about all kinds of things that mean little to her. I can say the same about her, and her friends, who chat in Thai, and even if I could understand it, not sure I would find it interesting or engaging. At least not for hours on end. We are both happy to do so. It is great for the relationship. We both trust each other, and are comfortable with being apart for a little while. She is trying to get some of her friends to join, and NONE of their Thai boyfriends or husbands will let them go. Not even her sister's husband! They are all so terribly insecure. They are all so terribly jealous and possessive. It strikes me as quite unattractive, and petty minded.

Personally, I could not live like that. For me, a little bit of space and independence, in a good long term relationship, is healthy and refreshing. My woman appreciates that too. She is always remarking on how surprised her girlfriends are, that I am ok with her traveling on her own, and how much she treasures that independence and trust. They say their men would never allow that. Seems a bit small minded to me. Such limitation, and such insecurity. Does that simply come from a relative lack of emotional development? I always felt that if one is secure enough in a relationship, you can trust your woman to be on her own a bit, and visa versa. What do you think?

Agree with everything you say here SM007.My wife is off to Nan next week to see a nephew in hospital, I am off to my local bar tonight . 2 weeks ago I went to Pai for 2 days on the Forza she didn't want to go so just me and a mate. I have a good pal up here in the north but I have never seen him without his wife close behind , we call her his shadow , I couldn't be living like that.

Well, to some extent we are able to set the agenda. A lot of guys come over here, and they are already completely and totally emasculated by some of the horrible, cruel, masculine, and emotionally bereft women in the west. So, they just fall directly into the pattern. Someone has to take control in a relationship. A relationship is a bit like a boat. It needs a captain. If the man does not, or cannot be that captain, than usually the woman will take over that role. So, it is totally on your friend to control his shadow. He allows it. He permits it. It is on him to ask her to back down. It is a life he has chosen. It is not something that would work for you, or I. Never in a million years would I allow my life to decline to that level. Possessiveness is something I abhor. I hate the way that feels. Who needs that?

Fortunately we still had enough self esteem, to create and enjoy a healthy relationship. That is a wonderful thing.

Come on OP. Whilst I am often questioning Thais I think it is unfair to make sweeping statements like ' why are so many Thai men'. They are not all the same. Different culture, different ways of showing how much they love their partners. I would say for this reason would answer your question.

But that's the OP's MO, he observes some isolated incident and manages to leap to some ridiculous conclusion about a whole country of peoples he's never met. And of course, his conclusions are always negative about the Thais, especially the men. Talk about insecurity and immaturity.

So let me ask you OP, if I was married with a wife and kids, and my wife wanted to go for an extended vacation alone, leaving me to work and look after the kids, and I said "no." would you call me jealous and insecure?

That's the thing OP, your knowledge of Thailand and the Thais are so obscenely poor that you are almost always wrong when you express an opinion about Thailand.

'

Fascinating conclusion. Much of this information comes from my Thai wife's mouth. She comments often, that many of her girlfriends cannot go out with her, without their husbands or boyfriends tagging along. And in the case of a trip up north, to visit friends, they cannot go, as their men will not allow them to be on their own for a few days. I am not making this stuff up. It is anything but an isolated incident. It is very commonplace. Of course it is safe to say I have never met everyone in the country. It would be quite a challenge to meet 68 million people. But, I have met alot, and I hear this opinion more often from the women, and from friends of my wife.

I think your analogy about being left with the kids for an extended period does not apply here. In the case of my wife, she has invited a few friends who either do not have kids, or are doing the Issan thing, and letting their folks look after them. So, this is a completely different circumstance. The gals want to go. They just are not being permitted to join the fun. I have lived in Thailand for over a decade, have many Thai friends, have traveled extensively in Thailand, and have a lovely Thai family. So, my knowledge is not quite as obscenely poor as you surmise.

In the west, I have some friends who are also quite possessive, but I also have many who are not, and their gals go out often with their friends, and it is not uncommon for some to travel without their husband or boyfriend.

But, as always, you are entitled to express your opinion.

You hear of so many here who kill their lovers, and spouses. The level of jealousy and insecurity here is insane. So many kill over love. Why not just walk away, and find a new woman? Why get so myopic, and blinded by love? What is up with that? Why such immaturity?

I often travel separately from my Thai wife. This week she is headed to Korat for a week, to visit some friends, and I am headed to Bangkok and Hua Hin to visit my friends. She often finds my friends boring, as we chat in english all day, about all kinds of things that mean little to her. I can say the same about her, and her friends, who chat in Thai, and even if I could understand it, not sure I would find it interesting or engaging. At least not for hours on end. We are both happy to do so. It is great for the relationship. We both trust each other, and are comfortable with being apart for a little while. She is trying to get some of her friends to join, and NONE of their Thai boyfriends or husbands will let them go. Not even her sister's husband! They are all so terribly insecure. They are all so terribly jealous and possessive. It strikes me as quite unattractive, and petty minded.

Personally, I could not live like that. For me, a little bit of space and independence, in a good long term relationship, is healthy and refreshing. My woman appreciates that too. She is always remarking on how surprised her girlfriends are, that I am ok with her traveling on her own, and how much she treasures that independence and trust. They say their men would never allow that. Seems a bit small minded to me. Such limitation, and such insecurity. Does that simply come from a relative lack of emotional development? I always felt that if one is secure enough in a relationship, you can trust your woman to be on her own a bit, and visa versa. What do you think?

Sounds like we have the same minded wives and they have the same kinds of friends and family members. Quite ridiculous when you think about it. My wives sister's husbands get so jealous of their wives if they are even sitting close to me.

Many, many moons ago, when I was with my ex-wife, she got a call from an ex-boyfriend. They were engaged for a while, then she broke it off, just prior to us meeting each other. I did not know many of the details, and I did not know him. as we had never met. She asked if she could go and meet him, as she said they still had some things they needed to work out. My intuition told me it was the right thing to do, to give my blessing to that effort. She came back a couple of hours later. He accompanied her, and introduced himself to me. He seemed like a real gentleman. She came inside, and gave me a big hug, started crying, and told me she had never been with a man before, who really trusted her, and it meant the world to her. She told me that one act said more about my heart, and my nature than anything I had done to date. Later we got married, and we enjoyed a very good relationship that lasted 10 years. I have look back on that day many times, and it is always with a great degree of satisfaction. I was very young at the time, but it told me alot about myself, and I liked what I saw.

Since then, I have never really understood the true nature of jealously and possessiveness. They feel like very dark, ugly qualities, that do not represent a sound mind, a mature and developed soul, nor a trusting heart. It feels so much better to believe in my woman, and allow her to have a life, apart from mine. I tend to get involved with women who have alot of friends, and they are able to spend time with their friends, and I am able to do the same. Sometimes for an entire day, or in the case of the above quote, several days at a time. We both love it. And it seems to make us closer, and more comfortable with each other. Many of her friends remark on how amazing it would be to find a man like me, that believes in them, and how oppressive it can be to live with a man who does not trust them, or believe that their intentions are noble and correct.

I am told that many Thai men are not well developed emotionally. That they are extremely possessive, and very jealous. I guess that is what contributes to some of the more extreme acts we hear about. The whole thing feels so undignified to me. So small. If you feel good about yourself, and know and like who you are, you can allow your woman to be herself, and do her own thing, from time to time. Right?

This begs the question, where on earth has Tiny George II been? In my lifetime, I never remember a president hiding out like this guy has been, other than Nixon. Many presidents such as Carter and Clinton establish a real legacy after their time in office, traveling the world, setting up foundations, doing charity work, etc. What has this guy been doing? Is he really as popular as this post suggests? I have been seeing some polls that suggest he is more popular than at any time since he left office. Perhaps it took a decade for the collective memory to erode?

He has taken up painting and he is quite good. Not nearly as good as Prince Charles but he is really not bad for an amateur painter.

These days, for between $10,000 and $50,000 you can hire a good PR firm, and they will feed any bit of information to the media you like. It is a way that guys like Trump, Bush, Soros, and several others have used to rehabilitate their reputations, which were in drastic need of repair. In the case of Trump, notice how many people are recently saying "I read a story about this woman who knows Trump, and she says he is a teddy bear. Such a nice guy. Not at all like the public persona". Well, this is PR. He is not a nice guy. Never has been. Never will be. As far as Bush the artist goes, I would need to witness that man demonstrating any sort of creativity, to believe it. I am very skeptical of the media. I believe very little of what I hear. Especially, when it is about hooligans and fools.

You hear of so many here who kill their lovers, and spouses. The level of jealousy and insecurity here is insane. So many kill over love. Why not just walk away, and find a new woman? Why get so myopic, and blinded by love? What is up with that? Why such immaturity?

I often travel separately from my Thai wife. This week she is headed to Korat for a week, to visit some friends, and I am headed to Bangkok and Hua Hin to visit my friends. She often finds my friends boring, as we chat in english all day, about all kinds of things that mean little to her. I can say the same about her, and her friends, who chat in Thai, and even if I could understand it, not sure I would find it interesting or engaging. At least not for hours on end. We are both happy to do so. It is great for the relationship. We both trust each other, and are comfortable with being apart for a little while. She is trying to get some of her friends to join, and NONE of their Thai boyfriends or husbands will let them go. Not even her sister's husband! They are all so terribly insecure. They are all so terribly jealous and possessive. It strikes me as quite unattractive, and petty minded.

Personally, I could not live like that. For me, a little bit of space and independence, in a good long term relationship, is healthy and refreshing. My woman appreciates that too. She is always remarking on how surprised her girlfriends are, that I am ok with her traveling on her own, and how much she treasures that independence and trust. They say their men would never allow that. Seems a bit small minded to me. Such limitation, and such insecurity. Does that simply come from a relative lack of emotional development? I always felt that if one is secure enough in a relationship, you can trust your woman to be on her own a bit, and visa versa. What do you think?

Interesting subject. You should start a separate thread.

Goo idea. I am really curious to know the various theories about this. I have started a thread on it, so you are welcome to comment on the thread.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/895073-why-are-so-many-thai-men-so-jealous-possessive-and-insecure-about-their-women/?p=10423419

You hear of so many here who kill their lovers, and spouses. The level of jealousy and insecurity here is insane. So many kill over love. Why not just walk away, and find a new woman? Why get so myopic, and blinded by love? What is up with that? Why such immaturity?

I often travel separately from my Thai wife. This week she is headed to Korat for a week, to visit some friends, and I am headed to Bangkok and Hua Hin to visit my friends. She often finds my friends boring, as we chat in english all day, about all kinds of things that mean little to her. I can say the same about her, and her friends, who chat in Thai, and even if I could understand it, not sure I would find it interesting or engaging. At least not for hours on end. We are both happy to do so. It is great for the relationship. We both trust each other, and are comfortable with being apart for a little while. She is trying to get some of her friends to join, and NONE of their Thai boyfriends or husbands will let them go. Not even her sister's husband! They are all so terribly insecure. They are all so terribly jealous and possessive. It strikes me as quite unattractive, and petty minded.

I realize some western men are equally jealous. I have met some. But, on the whole, I think many of us have enough self esteem, and enough faith in our relationships, and our women, that we do not have to stalk them, or own every minute of their time, in a pathetic effort to limit their behavior.

Personally, I could not live like that. For me, a little bit of space and independence, in a good long term relationship, is healthy and refreshing. My woman appreciates that too. She is always remarking on how surprised her girlfriends are, that I am ok with her traveling on her own, and how much she treasures that independence and trust. They say their men would never allow that. Seems a bit small minded to me. Such limitation, and such insecurity. Does that simply come from a relative lack of emotional development? I always felt that if one is secure enough in a relationship, you can trust your woman to be on her own a bit, and visa versa. What do you think?

This begs the question, where on earth has Tiny George II been? In my lifetime, I never remember a president hiding out like this guy has been, other than Nixon. Many presidents such as Carter and Clinton establish a real legacy after their time in office, traveling the world, setting up foundations, doing charity work, etc. What has this guy been doing? Is he really as popular as this post suggests? I have been seeing some polls that suggest he is more popular than at any time since he left office. Perhaps it took a decade for the collective memory to erode?

Georgie spends his days painting. Supposedly. Maybe trying to allay the memory of the horrors he brought to so many people. But of course we know he orchestrated nothing but was merely the front man for the evil cabal that runs US policy.

It does not matter, as the front man, he was the face of the neocon goons. He was the face of such morons as Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Cheney, and many other super freaks, who were promoting an extreme and frightening agenda. It has taken a decade to rehabilitate his reputation. My guess is that a fortune has been spent in doing so. As far as the painting BS goes, that is merely the work of a PR agency, who were paid $50k. That guy could not paint a cartoon. That is all it takes to get a story like that out there. The media ate it up. George the gentle artist. Yeah right. This man has the blood of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians on his hands. And I would go so far as to accuse him and his cronies of stealing billions during both administrations. What ever happened to the $30 billion that went missing from the money they sent over to get people to talk and rat out the extremists? Pallets full of cash. What ever happened to 50% of the treasures that were never relocated from the Iraqi National Museum, which was the greatest museum of Mesopotamian art the world has ever seen? Over 3,000 works are still missing, many of which are either priceless, or worth millions each. The Golden Harp of Samaria was never relocated. It is probably worth $40 million, or more. Who wants to bet it is in the living room of one of Cheney's chateaus in Switzerland?

I wonder how much of this has to do with work conditions, safety issues and other factors, and how much of this has to do with pay. Thai companies are notorious for poor compensation. Here is a link for the attrition rate of pilots on Thai Airways, due to relatively low pay, compared to neighboring countries.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Thai-Airways-losing-pilots-over-pay-30241769.html

You hear of so many here who kill their lovers, and spouses. The level of jealousy and insecurity here is insane. So many kill over love. Why not just walk away, and find a new woman? Why get so myopic, and blinded by love? What is up with that? Why such immaturity?

I often travel separately from my Thai wife. This week she is headed to Korat for a week, to visit some friends, and I am headed to Bangkok and Hua Hin to visit my friends. She often finds my friends boring, as we chat in english all day, about all kinds of things that mean little to her. I can say the same about her, and her friends, who chat in Thai, and even if I could understand it, not sure I would find it interesting or engaging. At least not for hours on end. We are both happy to do so. It is great for the relationship. We both trust each other, and are comfortable with being apart for a little while. She is trying to get some of her friends to join, and NONE of their Thai boyfriends or husbands will let them go. Not even her sister's husband! They are all so terribly insecure. They are all so terribly jealous and possessive. It strikes me as quite unattractive, and petty minded.

Personally, I could not live like that. For me, a little bit of space and independence, in a good long term relationship, is healthy and refreshing. My woman appreciates that too. She is always remarking on how surprised her girlfriends are, that I am ok with her traveling on her own, and how much she treasures that independence and trust. They say their men would never allow that. Seems a bit small minded to me. Such limitation, and such insecurity. Does that simply come from a relative lack of emotional development? I always felt that if one is secure enough in a relationship, you can trust your woman to be on her own a bit, and visa versa. What do you think?

tourists dont care. they must know about koh tao now but are the numbers down?

it's a certain type of tourist that goes there, the majority of them i mean, and they aren't the most intelligent people...

Dark Tao is one of the most dangerous places in Thailand. It is run by five families, that have no concept of respect, kindness, compassion, or decency. They have used stolen land (leased land with fake title) to earn hundreds of millions of dollars per family, and are now in a position where they are completely above the law. Any and all laws, be they local, state or federal. The army will not touch them (witness the recent B2 catastrophe of justice), they own the local police, and with that kind of money, nobody can disturb your crime empire in this country. Avoid Dark Tao as if it was infected with smallpox. There is a serial killer on the loose there, and he kills for sport. Not worth the risk.

Are there any elephants?

Not sure about Dark Tao. But, there are still some elephants on Samui, and there are "safaris". Two foreigners were killed just a week or two ago. The media reported it as one death. People I know in Samui said it was definitely two. Typical of the media. Death and injury is usually under reported here. A bit of a tourism ministry inspired cover up, one would think. Same with bungee, and all other areas of risk, including traffic fatalities which are barely reported. In Samui, the authorities do everything in their power to suppress this news. I am told by a guy who worked for Samui rescue for many years, that there are up to two foreigners a day that die on the island from motorbike accidents. Many more are injured daily. A lot of the responsibility for that falls on the shoulders of the local police, who demonstrate a staggering and stunning degree of incompetence and indifference.

Does anyone know why so many ladyboys seem to be thieves? I hear countless stories about people getting beat up by ladyboys, getting robbed, etc. Is it such a desperate lifestyle, that they have to resort to this kind of behavior? Or does the media hate them to the point that they have it in for them? What is the reality? Not that it matters much to me. Just curious.

This begs the question, where on earth has Tiny George II been? In my lifetime, I never remember a president hiding out like this guy has been, other than Nixon. Many presidents such as Carter and Clinton establish a real legacy after their time in office, traveling the world, setting up foundations, doing charity work, etc. What has this guy been doing? Is he really as popular as this post suggests? I have been seeing some polls that suggest he is more popular than at any time since he left office. Perhaps it took a decade for the collective memory to erode?

In Samui (at least) most tourists do not wear helmet, even though in their own countries they would be stopped by the police in matter of minutes.

A couple of Westerners with a young child on the front, also without helmet can be seen daily too!

As for the younger one, they many times drive much faster than the flow of traffic, overtaking in a random manner from left and right.

...When it is not three of them on three motorbikes talking to each other at slow speed in the middle of the road...

So all those posts about the way only Thai people are driving...really

Samui is the most lawless area in the country. Always has been. Probably always will be. The police there are purely decorative, and ceremonial. Of course the police nationwide are some of the least talented, least effective, least serious and least trained, in the world. In general, the RTP is the laughing stock of the planet. The officials on Samui, are the most indifferent in the country, and they have the least pride. Same can be said for alot of the local merchants. Lack of pride is almost a trait that the local merchants and officials on Samui are known for. The reality is, that most of the locals left long ago, with their small fortunes, from exploding land values. Most of the merchants on Samui are transplants, who just do not care about the island. And the mayor is beyond incompetent. The rest the nation barely cares one iota about the Southern Islands, and that goes doubly for the national government, who have ignored Samui for decades.

This is a positive step. Let us hope it is sincere, and that there is some follow up, something you just do not see much here. Consistency in policy leads to greater safety on the roads. An occasion road block leads to nothing. And the 99 baht helmet? If you are going to ride a motorbike on the roads here, it is positively insane to ride without a helmet. And it makes sense to purchase as good a helmet as you can possibly afford. When your head hits the asphalt, at a decent speed, you will wish you had spent an additional thousand baht on your helmet. The human head is about as delicate as an egg, when it comes in contact with concrete and asphalt, at any speed. My guess is that these 99 baht eggshell helmets will not provide much protection in the event of a spill at a decent speed.

Any sort of safety campaign is long overdue here. The Thai government has a tremendous amount of egg on it's face, for not caring about the safety of the public and it's tourists. It is never too late for these indifferent and incompetent officials and police to start caring, and doing something about their horrific problem. Being number two in the world for traffic fatalities is not something to be proud of. Rather tremendous shame, is the proper emotion for these officials to feel, if they care at all.

A deterrent is the first step, in improving the way people drive here. By impounding the bikes, they are sending a message. Inconvenience, and expense, will help to drive the point home. If the tourists and the local people are not wearing good helmets, out of common sense, and a sense of self preservation, than at least they can be taught to wear them out of fear of the authorities. That is a good thing. Whatever it takes to get people to practice basic safety is a positive step.

tourists dont care. they must know about koh tao now but are the numbers down?

it's a certain type of tourist that goes there, the majority of them i mean, and they aren't the most intelligent people...

Dark Tao is one of the most dangerous places in Thailand. It is run by five families, that have no concept of respect, kindness, compassion, or decency. They have used stolen land (leased land with fake title) to earn hundreds of millions of dollars per family, and are now in a position where they are completely above the law. Any and all laws, be they local, state or federal. The army will not touch them (witness the recent B2 catastrophe of justice), they own the local police, and with that kind of money, nobody can disturb your crime empire in this country. Avoid Dark Tao as if it was infected with smallpox. There is a serial killer on the loose there, and he kills for sport. Not worth the risk.

So much could be done to improve safety standards here. Here is a post I wrote, which I will not repeat, as the moderators don't seem to approve of that.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/894667-tourists-in-thailand-dont-know-theyre-riding-killer-elephants/?p=10417873

This is a portion of an excerpt that I previously posted, pertaining to Thai safety standards. These are areas where the authorities could be focusing their effort, and improving safety, for their own people, and for tourists:

Traffic safety- the second highest fatality rate in the world, right behind Libya. The police do not care. There is really nothing in the way of a highway patrol. They only arrive on the scene AFTER a terrible accident. No prevention whatsoever. No speeding tickets, no reckless driving citations, no foresight given to this huge problem.

Boat safety- how many people do we see harmed on and off of speedboats, probably the single biggest culprit. Ferry safety, and other areas need to be tightened up.

Recreational safety- we have all heard stories of the farengs who were recently killed on Samui, by the elephant. How about the zip lines, the bunny jumps, etc? They are barely regulated, as the government just does not care one iota.

Air safety - the authorities were recently given a wake up call when the international bodies cited Thailand for poor safety standards. A Nok Air plane nearly crashed into a hospital yesterday. Much needs to be done here.

Sidewalks - one could poke their eyes out with crap that is hanging everywhere, at eye level, one could sprain or break theie ankle with the poor quality of the sidewalks and curbs.

Highways- apparently due to the harebrained rice pledging scheme of NoLuck, there was no money left to spend on highway improvement. Consequently many important highways like the Highway 4, a main North-South artery were ignored for years, falling into dramatic disrepair. They are just now being fixed. For a country that portrays itself as beyond beyond third world, this kind of thing is a bit of a stretch.

Free zones- areas like Koh Samui, which are about as close to the wild, wold west as you can come. These are free zones, where the police are the least competent, the authorities the most indifferent, and the safety standards are the lowest in the land. Samui has the highest fatality rate in Thailand, for motorbike deaths, by far. The police and the authorities, be they local, state or federal, do NOTHING. Less than zero. They just do not care. The deaths continue daily. it is absolute egg on the face of the PM.

I could go on and on, all day. Safety is something the authorities just never even consider here. It is not anywhere near a priority.

The fact that this country is ranked just above El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Venezuela says it all. Those countries have some of the highest homicide rates in the world, due mostly to the drug related gang wars. Here, the homicide rate is still relatively low. So, the deaths here occur from utter carelessness, poor safety standards, a near complete lack of highway patrol or traffic safety, very poor regulation of dangerous tourist recreational activities, such as bungee jumping, zip lining, elephant safaris and jeep safaris. Many of these fatalities can be avoided through prevention, but only if the authorities cared, which they obviously do not. If lower class people (commoners, or the majority of the population) and foreigners are killed, it is of little concern to the police, and the powers that be. They have demonstrated that time and again, and continue to demonstrate that, on a daily basis. Egg on their faces, and shame on their beings.

Yeah, I think Bkk post and other media have been spoon-fed the story by Prayut's propaganda machine, they just swallow and write, being Thai media not bothering to dig more.

I should have been more professional in my own digging, my apologies, I could not find anything on the web to substantiate the story in Bkk post.

Well, I think it goes far, far beyond not having the willingness to dig more. I think they are expressly forbidden to rock the boat too much, or there will be consequences. Much the same as the media during the Gulf campaign, when Dickless Cheney cowered the media into submission. Nobody knows what was said to the media, at that time, except the inner circle of the neocon fascists in charge. But, the media sure behaved themselves. Nobody crossed the line. Nobody. All the TV outlets and even the Washington Post behaved themselves.